My only theory for this title is simply that we're not actually playing a real Remake of VII, we're playing a stealth sequel and collectively the Remake will be revealed to be VII-2 that was promised with the Compilation.

The game is going to go off rails with later episodes and time travel and parallel timelines will become more involving in later Episodes. The Arbiters of Fate will be the new antagonist, though Sephy will eventually usurp them. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Aerith and Sephy in the Remake are actually possessed with the memories of their counterparts from the OG reaching out into the past to create a new timeline. Sephy to change his fate and win, and Aerith initially going back to simply stopping him but eventually convinced she might be able to change the timeline for the better overall.